What to look for when buying a car privately?

stepbar

Folks,

I'm on the look out for a car and I will be doing the viewings myself. What I'm wondering is; what things should I be looking out for on the cars? so that I dont go buying a piece of sh1te What else should I be looking for from the seller?

Any help would be great

Stephen

Anan1

A full, verifiable, service history supported by invoices. Don't buy without it.

Tipsy Mac

Check that the person selling the car is the person who's name is on the log book of the car, check Passport/Driving license to verify this.

Depends alot as to what to expect on how much you are spending, if say you are spending 10k you can be more picky than if are looking at something for 2k.

bazz26

Always good to have someone with you who knows a bit about cars. If serious about buying a particular car make sure to have a qualified mechanic give it a good check before parting with your money.

Gerry

Just to emphasis what Anan1 said - make sure it has a full service history.
This means a record of each service, and it should be in accordance with the schedule in the book that comes with the car.
Theres plenty of cars around, you should keep going till you find one that has been minded. Just think of the difference in value in a car that has had no expense spared, and one that seems to be going ok, but hasn't even had basic services.

rowanh

Would you expect a to be able to find a car at any price with a full history? I would have thought if your buying a cheap older car it would be unlikley.

Another thing if a car has a full service history it doesnt mean the head gasket or turbo or other big part is on its last leg..


If your buying an older car check the following

no smoke black or white comming form exaust
no white residue on oil cap
Might be bad if you take off oil cap and it is blowing out air when you put your hand over it, shows engine is worn, i think its ok on some cars though.
look along the lenth of the car and make sure it looks straight
see if the boot wobbles at all when open, might have been hit from behind.
look under the cover in the boot to see if there is any ripples in the metal
check down in under the engine for any part of the chasis (chasis arms or legs i think) looking bent.
look very carefully at panels to see if they are the exact same paint tone.
look under the car and in under the wheels for rust.
Make sure gears change easily with no crunch, especially reverse and 2nd to third

when test driving it drive it quite hard
break hard and see if it stays totally straight

If it has an nct it helps a bit..

my mechanical knoledge is fairly basic but those are a few things to check.

Anan1

rowanh wrote:

Would you expect a to be able to find a car at any price with a full history? I would have thought if your buying a cheap older car it would be unlikley.

Yes, I would. As cars get older, it becomes less likely that they will be properly maintained. That said, such cars do exist. These are the only cars the OP should be considering. They are hard to find but remember, the OP only needs to find one.:)

Oryx

Make sure to view the car dry. If its wet it can cover flaws in the paintwork.

Mailman

Inspect the owner. : )
If he/she is rough as muck then worry for the car.

Anan1

Mailman wrote:

Inspect the owner. : )
If he/she is rough as muck then worry for the car.

That's very good advice.